We’ve been heard! Days following the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine, social media has since been awash with clamors on bringing back shows that would be useful to viewers, especially the young as most, if not, all of the students have been subjected to learning at home. And with productions of current television shows on different time slots put to a halt brought by the lockdown, television networks have resorted to airing replays of various shows. Online, many have expressed suggestions to leading networks, particularly to ABS-CBN in bringing back popular ’90s shows that taught students then.
In a recent statement, the network has announced that it is bringing back its iconic educational programs Sine’skwela, Bayani, and Hiraya Manawari to bring valuable lessons to young viewers starting tomorrow, Saturday (March 28).
Airing at 8:30AM, Sine’skwela, the science-based television program will make its return. Built on the concept of helping young learners navigate concepts on science and technology through its colorful characters and their different adventures, the show takes you in a scientific adventure with Aga-Tom, Ana-Tom, Palikpik, and the rest of the gang of fictional and real-life-based characters to answer various scientific phenomena.
The show has created an indelible mark on students from the ’90s and early 2000s and was eventually mandated by the Department of Education (DepEd) to be screened in classes at least once a week as a reference for studying science.
Bayani, taking the 9:00 AM time slot, will bring viewers back in time and relive the lives of Filipino heroes and important figures in history. Its young leads take on an interesting trip down “history lane” to revisit the lives of significant names that made their marks in history, from Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, to recent figures like Sajid Bulig, among others. This also prompted the DepEd to endorse the show to become part of the regular class activities in schools.
At 9:30 AM, Hiraya Manawari will then bring important values told through magical tales that resonate with its young demographic of viewers, that has served as an integral cog in their character building, as it also gained ground among public and private schools, as a government-endorsed viewing among students.
These three iconic and culture-shaping shows were all produced by ABS-CBN Foundation, now known as ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc., and were some of the biggest legacies left by Gina Lopez.
ABS-CBN TVplus, SKYdirect, and SKYcable also air the shows daily at 6:30 AM (“Bayani”), 7:00 AM, (“Hiraya Maniwari”), and 8:30 AM (“Sineskwela”) under Knowledge Channel Foundation’s “Stay At Home, Learn at Home” program.